(Recommended: Open NetEase Cloud Music in the background and play the song "endday")
Himeko tackled Mei off the ship, but just before they hit the ground, Mei transformed into a flash of lightning and vanished from her arms, leaving Himeko to crash heavily to the ground alone.
*CRASH—*
She hit the ground like a rubber ball, bounced a few times, and then fell still.
Thanks to the powerful physique of a Valkyrie, a freefall of several dozen meters wouldn't turn them into a pile of mush.
But perhaps being turned into a pile of mush would have been a kindness...
Unspeakable pain washed over Himeko's entire body. From the fall and the damage from the Nexus System, Himeko felt as though every bone in her body had been shattered.
Her internal organs ruptured, causing her body to fill with blood. Crimson blood flowed from Himeko's ears, eyes, nose... from all seven orifices.
Her eardrums ruptured, causing her hearing to fade drastically. Combined with a head injury, her vision was nothing but a field of white.
Himeko thought of her past. Her mother dying from a Honkai-induced illness in her childhood, her father perishing in an experiment later on.
Afterward, she joined the newly established St. Freya High School and, through her own tireless efforts, became an A-rank Valkyrie...
Became a Valkyrie instructor... became everyone's teacher... formed the 5th Valkyrie Squad with Kiana and the others...
Heh, still single even at death's door...
Unable to see, hear, or move from the pain, the world seemed to fall silent at that moment. Perhaps dying peacefully like this wouldn't be so bad...
But how could that be possible!
Himeko fumbled for the Corona Greatsword that had fallen with her, using it to support her body as she shakily stood up.
Mei stood right in front of Himeko, waiting for her to get back up.
"What... still want to fight?"
Himeko didn't answer, because she could no longer hear Mei's voice clearly.
But there was no need to hear or answer. Because Himeko had already raised her sword.
Three minutes later...
Like an elder playfully sparring with a young child, Himeko swung her sword at Mei again and again, only to be effortlessly swatted away each time.
Until Himeko fell to the ground, unable to get up again.
Realizing Himeko could no longer hear, Mei used telepathy, her voice resounding directly in Himeko's mind.
"You want to hold me back to buy them time to escape. I gave you that chance, but it looks like you can't hold on any longer. Let's end this meaningless struggle now..."
"*Cough, cough...* You really have gotten stronger... With the power of a Herrscher, even your heart has become as hard as a stone. I never thought that someone once so gentle could become so cold..."
"Is that all you have to say at a time like this?"
"I'd love to reminisce with you... but it's a pity there isn't even a good bottle of wine here... *cough, cough...*"
"With that broken body, like a candle in the wind, you still want to fight?"
"Yeah... After all, besides fighting, I have nothing left...
Besides, it seems you've forgotten what I taught you... Never underestimate the will of a Valkyrie... *cough, cough...* As long as I'm alive, I will get up and continue to fight..."
Himeko spat out a mouthful of blood and broken teeth, her hands clawing deep grooves into the ground as she gritted her teeth and stood up once more.
"*Cough, cough...* Rest's over. Let's continue!"
Himeko forcefully lifted the greatsword in her hands and swung at Mei.
"A pointless struggle. The more you struggle, the more despairing the final outcome will be. I have no more time to play with you. I'll finish you with the next blow."
Mei formed a blade with her hand, covered it in lightning, and thrust it toward Himeko for the final blow.
Without any resistance, like a knife stabbing into a sponge, it easily shattered the Corona Greatsword inch by inch from the tip and pierced through Himeko's chest.
*Drip, drop...* A heavy rain began to fall from the sky... accompanied by thunder, washing away the bloodstains on the ground...
Mei withdrew her hand-blade. Blood sprayed from the wound, and Himeko's body slumped weakly to its knees, her head hanging low, motionless.
Shaking her hand, Mei flicked the remnants of Himeko's blood to the ground. Not completely disintegrating Himeko with electricity, leaving a complete corpse, was perhaps her last shred of mercy.
But perhaps this mercy was too merciful. A mere fatal wound through the chest—Himeko had already endured such pain for countless nights...
She didn't get dead drunk every night because she liked alcohol... but only by numbing herself with it could she barely suppress the pain brought by the Valkyrie surgery, allowing her a night of peaceful sleep...
Perhaps the sword in her hand was broken, perhaps her nerves had snapped, but regardless, Himeko could now lift it.
"*Hah... ha!*"
Himeko raised the hilt of the Corona Greatsword and swung again at Mei, who had already turned to leave...
Sensing Himeko's attack, Mei turned, raised her hand, and prepared to unleash a lightning orb that would completely disintegrate Himeko's body, but in the end, she retracted her hand.
Mei's attack didn't fall, and neither did Himeko's...
Perhaps that blow really could have reached Mei, even knowing that just the hilt wouldn't truly injure her...
But it was unclear whether Himeko had reached her limit or had chosen to hold back.
Himeko collapsed in front of Mei, her eyes vacant. She could no longer see anything at all...
But at the very end, she seemed to grab onto something. Himeko wrapped her arm around her shoulder and hugged her, supporting her own body, not letting herself fall...
"Himeko..."
"Sorry... looks like I'm not strong enough after all... To be so useless as a teacher, how embarrassing..."
Mei said nothing more; nothing more needed to be said. She stood there quietly, letting Himeko embrace her in her final moments.
"Mei... whether you remember the past, whether you still have human emotions after becoming a Herrscher... I still want to tell you, as your teacher... you were wrong."
"*Cough, cough...* Since I'm your teacher, I have to correct your mistakes... and guide you onto the right path. That is my responsibility..."
"So... let it go...
At least for the time that's left... let those children live out the rest of their days in peace.
This is my final wish..."
The rain poured down, the relentless water blurring their vision...
Mei stared into the distance, not daring to look down at Himeko. Rain slid down her cheeks, making it impossible to tell if it was rain or tears...
And Himeko, who had long since lost her sight, could not look upon Mei's face one last time.
"It's... too late."
"I'm sorry... Teacher Himeko."
*BOOM—*
A massive bolt of lightning fell straight from the heavens, striking Mei and Himeko...
A moment later, Mei walked out of the lightning. Himeko was nowhere to be seen.
Everything had already been truly destroyed long ago. These spirits trapped here should have been released long ago...